Grounds maintenance workers, sometimes called lawn care workers, care for the environs of private homes and commercial and public institutions. Some lawn care workers specialize in certain activities, such as trimming and pruning trees and bushes or the application of pesticides. As of 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that nearly 1,250,000 grounds maintenance workers were employed in the United States.

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

As of 2011, general landscaping and groundskeeping workers reported an average annual income of $25,650 and an average hourly wage of $12.33. Half of all general landscaping and groundskeeping workers earned hourly wages of between $9.28 and $14.29. In general, those who were employed by the government or by elementary and secondary schools tended to make more money than the employees of private contractors. Those in the Northeast and on the Pacific Coast reported higher average wages than the rest of the nation, and those in the Southern states reported some of the lowest.

Pesticide Handlers and Sprayers

Lawn care workers who specialized in the application of pesticides reported higher earnings than general lawn care workers as of 2011, an annual average of $31,690 and an hourly average of $15.24. Fifty percent of lawn care workers who specialized in pesticide application earned between $11.86 and $17.83 per hour. Those who were employed by elementary and secondary schools reported the highest average hourly earning by employment sector, $21.94.

Trimmers and Pruners

The BLS reports that groundskeeping personnel who specialized in the trimming of trees, shrubs and hedges also tended to make more money than general lawn care workers. As of May 2011, trimmers and pruners earned an average of $32,970 per year and $15.85 per hour. The lowest-paid 25 percent of trimmers earned $11.81 or less per hour, while the highest-paid 25 percent earned $18.74 or more per hour. Trimmers and pruners working for the government earned far higher average wages than those working for independent contractors.

Job Outlook

The BLS predicts that job growth among lawn care workers will be strong between 2010 and 2020, adding an estimated 250,000 jobs to the economy by the end of the decade. Additional employment is expected to be available in both the private and public sectors, as urban municipalities plant more trees and open more parkland and as more and more aging Americans require lawn maintenance for their homes. According to the BLS, work prospects for this occupation will be strongest in temperate areas where lawn care workers are needed throughout the entire year.

About the Author

Forest Time has been writing for over a decade. During this time, he founded and edited a short-lived literary magazine, received several prizes for his poetry and published a master's thesis on Cambodian history. He received his Master of Arts in Asian history from the University of Maine at Orono in 2007.

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